Assumptions or How Jareth Got His Sarah Back
by Faran Dune
Summary: This is your classic J/S romance, but with a few twists thrown in. No bad language or graphic scenes. The rating is primarily because it is realistic in many places. You will have to read it to find out more. Peaches, everyone!
1. Chapter One: Wrong Assumptions

Hello all! Though this is my first Laby fic of any consequence, I've been a listian-in-training for a while now. This story idea hit me a while back when I was working on a writing assignment. Originally, it was supposed to be a vocabulary story, but when I found the word count stretching into the thousands, I decided that my teacher would not be very happy if I turned it in. Instead, I wrote up a quickie to turn in and transformed this into a story. I've never posted on fanfiction.net before, and so I apologize ahead of time for any problems that occur. If there are any similarities in this story to other fanfiction, it is probably not your imagination. No, I do not plagiarize, but ideas I consider to be up for grabs. Though I did not intentionally make my story like any others I have read, I know they have influenced me. That being said, read, enjoy, and review!  
  
Disclaimer: Dune comes in leading Jareth  
  
Dune: prods Jareth in the back "Come on, say it!"  
  
Jareth: "Do I have to??"  
  
Dune: "Of course! I own you! Now say it."  
  
Jareth: "Ok, ok!" clears throat "Dune, the author of this fic, does not own or hold possession of Jareth, Sarah, or any character or item from the Labyrinth. The sole possession of said people and things belongs to Jim Henson, George Lucas, and Brian Froud. She does, however, put a claim on any original characters in her story. Please do not use without notifying her. Thank you." looks back at Dune "There, I said it. Now can I go back to my castle?"  
  
Dune: "For a while. But don't go kicking any Goblins, ok?"  
  
Jareth: "Fine, fine."  
  
Dune walks out with Jareth  
  
  
  
  
  
******************  
  
Chapter One: Assumptions and Resolutions  
  
Jareth reached down and touched the globe of spun silver that rolled toward him on the ground. Unlike most people when confronted by a crystal ball rolling at them, he did not look up to see who or what had rolled it at him. He just looked deeply into it, like a seer searching the stars for answers. Not as to where it had come from of course. That he knew. The crystals, the embodiment of his Fae magic, were not only containers for spells, but could used by him to carry messages, lead people to where he wanted them to go, or, as in this case, spies that could look in places that even his royal eyes were barred from.  
  
A picture of a brown haired girl appeared in the crystal that Jareth held lovingly in his hands. She was astonishing in her beauty. Her skin was petal soft and slightly tanned. Her dark brown hair was long and silky with a slight curl at the ends. Her nose was small and petite. Her mouth was sweet and pink with a quirk in the corners that showed her sense of humor. Her eyes, however, were her most striking feature. Gray and almost misty with imagination sometimes, they had such strength, such vitality, that one's breath was swept away. Jareth remembered the way her eyes would tell what she was thinking. Steel gray when she was determined, clouded gray when she was confused. A green hint came to them when she liked someone, and a blue when she was marveling at something. Yellow flashes would spark when she was angry, however, and then the provoker beware!  
  
It had been two days since Jareth had been defeated by Sarah and been forced by her to return her and her baby brother, Toby, to Aboveground. Jareth had spent those two days in anguish. Jareth was considered by himself and many others to be the master of games. And he had been beaten at his own game, played by his own rules, in his own castle. Humiliated, crushed, Jareth could not stop himself from living the experience in his mind over and over again. Where had he gone wrong? What had he left undone? How had he failed? And always through his musings Sarah's face floated before him in mockery. He had taken to spying on her, as he had done during her trek through his labyrinth. He had found that speaking to her, even though she couldn't hear him, only made him grow angry, but he couldn't help it. What he felt had to be spoken.  
  
"Sarah. Sarah. Why?" Jareth murmured sorrowfully at the beautiful girl in the glass. "I offered you everything. my heart, my soul. How could you have refused? How could you have been so cruel?" his teeth ground over those words as if they were poison, "I all but fell before you on my knees! Imagine! The Great Goblin King down on his knees before a mortal! Begging, pleading her to stay and love him. to accept his love. Oh how you hurt me, Sarah!" A self-depreciating sneer appeared on his face. "And then that smile, Sarah. That scornful turn of your sweet mouth hurt worse than anything you ever could have said. That little, mocking grin when you remembered the words you had been searching for. That smile that said that all I had done. all I had been meant nothing to you. You had won." Jareth threw the globe from him and it dissipated before hitting the wall. "Was it a game Sarah? Was it? Truly, do you think that after all I have done for you. all that I have invested in you, I would let you go so easily? Do you really think," here Jareth's voice reached a new crescendo, his feelings over the past few minutes having steadily risen as he spoke to a girl who could not hear him, "Do you truly, honestly THINK that it was all a game? Then, Sarah, my dear. You are about to learn what it is to TRULY play against the Master of Games. And this time, my love, the stakes have risen." Jareth conjured another crystal ball and kissed the image of Sarah's face in it before retiring to his room.  
  
  
  
************  
  
  
  
In a small bedroom in a little, Victorian-style house on 5th street, the soft glimmer of the morning sun through the leaves of the tree outside her window woke Sarah from her troubled sleep. The last two nights since she had come back from. well, from There Sarah had had troubled dreams. Dreams filled with changing landscapes, strange colors, and wave upon wave of emotions that were so strong they hit her like physical blows. The strange thing was that when she woke up they would fade into nothingness and she remembered them no more until she was about to drift off to sleep again the next night.  
  
Sarah brushed the remainders of her dream out of mind and memory and looked contentedly around the room. So many things here that held special places in her heart, all the more special now that she had determined to leave them behind her.  
  
"I have grown up." Sarah said to herself, "I never thought that it would be so hard."  
  
She got out of her bed and pushed her feet into the little pink, fuzzy house shoes that she had gotten a year ago for Christmas. An amused grin crept over her features as she regarded them. Yes, they would be the first of many things she would replace. Replace with more grown-up items. From now on, Sarah was determined to be sensible. After all, her childish attitude and foolish behavior had been what had gotten her into so much trouble just two days ago.  
  
With a bright, cheerful step, Sarah finished pulling a pink bathrobe around herself and skipped down the hall into her parent's room to check on Toby. The little guy was sound asleep still. He had slept a lot for the last day or so. Probably from going through so much when. well, going through so much. Sarah's parents had used this unusual reprieve from him to spend the previous day at the fair that was in town. Sarah had astounded her stepmother by happily requesting to be left at home with the baby. Karen had noticed a change in her stepdaughter. Instead of moping about the house with a book in her hand and a mournful tune humming from her mouth, Sarah was bright and cheerful. She was glad to help wash up after meals, and holding Toby was now a joy to her instead of a burden. Karen mentally filed away this strange behavior behind that all-encompassing excuse of "teenagers".  
  
Sarah grinned a little to see Lancelot, her old, stuffed bear, cuddled close in Toby's arms. So many memories. She shook her head to clear it and tripped back into her own room. Today was school. Her first day of school since, well, since the last time.  
  
Sarah's closet was filled with flowery, flowing clothes, many of which also doubled as costumes during school plays.  
  
"These won't do." Sarah thought to herself. "I'm being sensible, remember?"  
  
She dug deep into the recesses of her closet, determined to find something without frills or lace. Finally, she unearthed a rather apologetic looking blouse that almost looked masculine it was so devoid of anything frivolous.  
  
  
  
"Finally!" thought Sarah, and she grabbed her most comfortable, practical jeans and loafers and proceeded dressing.  
  
When she was through, her feet took her automatically to her dresser were her make-up and jewelry lay. Without thinking, she picked up her favorite pink gloss and was about to apply it before she realized what she was doing. Rummaging through her make-up unearthed some business-like beige lipstick, which she then applied with relish. The only jewelry she wore was her wristwatch, and that, she determined in her mind, to replace as soon as she found something more suitable than unicorns as a motif.  
  
As Sarah picked up her book bag to head downstairs, her gaze fell on the small, leather-bound red book lying haphazardly on her dresser.  
  
"I thought I put that away." she said to herself, "Odd."  
  
She picked it up to put it into her drawer, but halted as her hand touched its cover. Memories, rich and unbidden, flooded into her mind. A little blue worm with a scarf around its neck... A gruff, uncultured voice... A soft wind on her face. Brown and green flashes. A pair of glittering wings. White. A dance. Whirling, spinning. White feathers. an owl over a crystal moon. Him.  
  
"No." she moaned, her hands automatically clutching the book to her chest as tears leaked down her face, "Hoggle. Ludo. Didymus." she staggered to her knees, slowing rocking back and forth with the book still cradled to her chest. "Why? Why did it happen? I didn't want to say the words!! Truly! I thought it was a game." A mocking, handsome face appeared in her mind's eye. Unruly blond hair flew about its elegant profile with a wild grace. "Oh. But." The tears stopped coming and Sarah's face took on a strange hardness. "It was a game, wasn't it? That's all it was to you, all along." Her eyes went from clouded to steel. "A game, huh? Well, I've had all I can take of games. I will no longer play along, you hear me?? I am NOT a child anymore! And I refuse to be treated like one!"  
  
Sarah looked done at the book that was cradled so lovingly to her chest and disgust came over her. She threw the book from her and didn't look to see were it would land. She rose to her feet, chin jutting out in defiance.  
  
"I won. You hear me?? I WON!!" She quieted then and a contented but somehow sorrowful expression passed over her features.  
  
"I'm free." She stated simply, her voice no more than a whisper of wind in a silent desert land. With that she gathered up her book bag and trudged downstairs to get some breakfast.  
  
In her hurry, she missed the light that flashed from the small, crystal sphere speeding away from her window. 


	2. Chapter Two: Be Careful What You Ask For

Sarah wolfed down her breakfast and hurried to the door. She was determined to get to school early so that she could pick out the book she wanted for her report in English class. She had picked a book out a week before but. well, that book was lying somewhere on her floor and she wasn't about to pick it up again.  
  
"Anything without a red leather binding." Sarah thought to herself as she peddled her bike to the school library.  
  
Storm clouds were moving in as she set the bike on its kickstand and went inside. Row upon row of books met her gaze as she entered the dimly lit library. Immediately, her feet took her down the well-trodden path to the fantasy section. She caught herself before three steps had been taken and looked at her traitor feet.  
  
"I don't think so. Turn around, feet."  
  
She glanced side to side trying to find the non-fiction. She hadn't been in this part of the library more than two or three times and soon she lost herself among the great tomes of dry, boring literature. She ran her hand down the spines of the books, not actually looking at the titles. Her finger caught on a slim volume that was sandwiched between two old encyclopedias. Not really caring which one of these dusty old books she picked, she pulled it down, not noticing the trace of glitter that lay on the shelf around it, and flipped through it. A book on bird migration. Excellent. Nothing better for settling an over-active imagination and seating one firmly in reality like a good read on bird migration.  
  
Sarah glanced around for some of the moth-eaten armchairs that so populated her much-visited fiction section of the Library, but all she could find over here was a hard, rickety wooden chair that looked like it had been used mainly for standing on to reach top shelves. With a sigh, she sat on it and started reading by one of the windows.  
  
The wind outside had begun to pick up and a tree branch squeaked periodically against the windowpane. Sarah tried to focus her mind on the book in her lap, but it became harder and harder to focus on the page in front of her as time went by. Once she caught herself staring dreamily out the window when her mind had been sure that she was studying the flight patterns of swallows, both African and European, with diligence.  
  
Sarah shook herself. "This will never do, silly. Get a grip on things! Be interested! This is pure, unaltered fact before you, isn't that exciting?" Her imagination failed her here, however, but she delved into the book again with renewed determination. Something was wrong with her eyes though, the page kept getting harder to make out. And then that horrible squeaking of the branch outside was getting worse. She slammed the book closed in irritation and looked up at the branch. The wind outside was now a gale, and storm clouds had covered the sky completely.  
  
"And me without my umbrella. This is exactly the sort of foolish behavior you were supposed to put behind yourself, Sarah." She admonished herself. Sarah sighed and turned her chair so that her back was to the window, trying to get all the light she could to focus on the book in front of her.  
  
  
  
"Excuse me, dear." Came an old but sweet voice from in front of her. The librarian from the front desk was standing there with an apologetic look on her wrinkled face. "I'm stepping out for a few minutes for a cup of coffee. Do you mind? I will be back soon if you need anything."  
  
"Oh, not at all, Mrs. Whitesun. I'm just reading and I know my way around pretty well." Replied Sarah cordially. Mrs. Whitesun had helped her many a time with finding books, and she understood completely when Sarah sheepishly turned a favorite book in two days late. Sarah and Mrs. Whitesun were kindred spirits.  
  
"I'll be back in a minute then, dear."  
  
Sarah focused her attention again on the dry tome in front of her and listened as the wind beat the library door shut behind Mrs. Whitesun's retreating back. Suddenly, she couldn't see the page at all. All the light from behind her had disappeared. It took Sarah a minute to release that she could no longer see the page in front of her, proof of her inattention to the reading.  
  
She threw a quick glance behind her at the window to see what had happened to the light, fully expecting to see a full-fledged storm as the cause of the sudden darkness and mentally she was counting the minutes in drenching rain it would take to reach the other school buildings from here. To her relief her mind noted that it wasn't storm clouds blocking the sunlight, it was just someone standing in front of the window throwing their shadow over the book. Sarah turned back with a sigh and was in the process of closing the book and getting up to move when her slow mind caught up with what she had seen.  
  
  
  
A person. Tall. Lean. Blond hair. Tights.  
  
  
  
"Oh no." she whispered in her mind. She peeked down and a little behind her to check. Yep, boots. Great. Just great. Though she hadn't seen the person's face because his back was to the light, she could just about stake her life on the shape of the features and the slight mocking grin that she was sure was plastered all over it. "Maybe if I don't acknowledge his presence he'll go away." she thought hopefully. "Come on, feet, let's get out of here before he gets any ideas." But her movement was arrested by a low cultured voice.  
  
"Going somewhere, Sarah?"  
  
"ignorehimignorehimignorehim!" Sarah's mind intoned, a litany against the insane panic that was building inside of her. "He doesn't exist. He doesn't exist. He doesn't exist! I'm leaving, right now, and I am NOT turning around." She told her mind fiercely, but her legs weren't listening to her and refused to change from their half-crouch position over the chair. Abruptly, she forced her legs stand and she had almost convinced them that walking was a good idea about now when a slim, elegant hand reached into her line of vision and deftly grabbed the book she was holding out of her lax grip.  
  
"Sarah, Sarah, Sarah. This is hardly the book I would think a girl like you would be reading. It doesn't even have pictures." Came the voice, heavy with disapproval, from behind her.  
  
This was too much for Sarah's overwrought nerves and she forgot her pledge to ignore the domineering Fae behind her. Her eyes sparked lightning and without turning she said furiously, "What would you know about what I read and don't read? And I'll have you know that some people enjoy books without pictures because they use their imagination."  
  
"Ah. I see," Jareth intoned, "and I suppose you are the leading authority on imagination?"  
  
"I never said that." Sarah retorted, "And if you don't mind, I would like to be left alone to finish reading up for my book report."  
  
"Book report?"  
  
"Yes, for my English class. Now please put down my book and leave so I can get on with it."  
  
"Really, Sarah, bird migration? What kind of topic is that? Do you really want to know about the flight patterns of birds?"  
  
"Yes I do, I.." A look of horror crossed Sarah's face as she realized what she had said. "No, wait! I don't."  
  
Too late.  
  
Glitter and feathers had surrounded her and her words were cut off as she found herself suddenly swooping through the air in the talons of an enormous, snowy owl.  
  
  
  
**********  
  
Cruel, ain't I? Review away! I'll try to post something every day for awhile, though it may slow down eventually. Peaches! 


	3. Chapter Three: Your Wish Is My Command

"Put me down you big, freakin' idiot!!" Sarah wailed in anger as the clouds swooped around her like strange ships. The snowy owl looked at her with a bemused expression, and abruptly opened its talons.  
  
"What?? AAAAAAAaaaaaaaahhhHHHaaAAAHH!!" Sarah screamed as she began to plummet. "Help me!! Someone!! ANYONE!!" Her breath was almost knocked out of her as she landed on the broad back of the snowy, which had swooped up beneath her. As soon as she had gotten her breath back Sarah began beating her fists against the bird's back. "How dare you???? How DARE you??? Put me down this instant!!! AND DON'T YOU EVER DROP ME AGAIN, YOU SORRY EXCUSE FOR A FEATHER-DUSTER, OR I WILL PERSONALLY DISEMBOWEL YOU, YOU HEAR ME???" Obligingly, the snowy alighted, but on the top of a huge pine tree that was at least 85 feet tall. Sarah tumbled off its back and hung desperately onto a nearby branch. She had never minded heights before, but there was something about being almost 100 ft. above the ground on a tree branch that made her tongue cleave to the roof of her mouth. In a whirl of feathers and moondust, the snowy transformed into Jareth, complete with mocking smile.  
  
"Why the angry threats, my dear Sarah? I thought you wanted to learn about the flight patterns of birds? What better way to learn than from first- hand experience?"  
  
At this, Sarah's tongue loosed itself and her fear receded to a corner of her mind, waiting until she had time to pay proper attention to it. "I wanted to learn from the book you imbecile!!!" she yelled at him, "You had no RIGHT to do that to me!!" In her anger, Sarah didn't notice that the small branch that her hand was grasping was cracking. With a snap it broke off completely. Sarah's arms windmilled around her and she teetered on the branch under her before her flailing hand grasped another twig and held her steady.  
  
Jareth had started forward as he saw the branch break, but she jerked away from him and glared into his concerned eyes.  
  
"You stay away from me, you hear?? Don't come near me again!!!" But her words didn't have the sharp edges of before. His concern had not gone unnoticed by her, and try as Sarah might, she could not seem to build up the fire of her wrath as high as before. Jareth noted this and allowed himself a smug mental grin.  
  
"Am I that repulsive?" came Jareth's response in amused tones, "Odd, for until now I had been assured by all I met that I cut quite a fine figure, especially when I dress in black."  
  
As he said this, a convenient gust of wind caught his dark cape and made it billow behind him. His lean body and fine, elegant features were held in high relief against the sky. Sarah wasn't blind, and in all actuality she had a hard time to keep her baleful gaze from growing admiring as it wandered up and down his lean form. Black did look good on him. Really good.  
  
Sarah shook herself, "Eyes UP, girl!" she told herself severely. "Now is NOT the time to have him catching you drooling. You're supposed to be angry!" She snapped her gaze back onto his eyes. "I don't give a monkey's behind for what others think of you. All I care about that concerns you is the distance you keep from me, which I want to be considerable."  
  
"Oh?" Jareth asked in his most annoying, innocent tones. Sarah had the uncomfortable impression that he had somehow heard the conversation that had just run through her mind. "But one does not always get what one wants in this world. You of all people should know that."  
  
He started walking towards her along the branch, gravity seemingly ignoring him. Sarah only wished it would give the same consideration to herself, too, as she had to scramble backwards towards the trunk to keep the distance between them large enough for comfort. But there was only so much branch, and Jareth was shortening the distance with alarming speed.  
  
A feral gleam lit his eyes and his mouth quirked up in a predator's grin as he saw the unreasoning fear and strain in Sarah's movements as her back pressed up against the trunk. There was no where else to turn.  
  
"You keep away from me!!" her panic stricken whisper caused Jareth to pause in his advance.  
  
"You want me to go away? Is that it, my dear Sarah?" he asked in his most reasonable tones.  
  
"Yes!" She sighed, relieved that he had finally seemed to get the picture. "Please, just go away."  
  
"Well, if that is your wish." His eyes gleamed with a mischievous light,  
  
"So be it."  
  
And with a swirl of his cloak, Jareth disappeared.  
  
  
  
************  
  
  
  
"Stupid, stupid, stupid." This was the hundredth time in the last half- hour that Sarah had repeated this litany. Yes, she was still there in the tree. At least she was no longer at the very top, having in the last 15 minutes managed to make it to almost 30ft. down the tree. She had been sitting on this branch for about half an hour now. See, the funny thing about pine trees is that as they grow, the lower branches wither and fall off so that more sap can be sent to the upper branches that actually see sunlight and make food for the tree. This is great for the tree, but not for Sarah. She was still over 40 ft. from the ground, and she wasn't going to be getting lower any time soon. At least, not unless she decided to jump or something.  
  
She had run clean out of branches.  
  
*************** Merry Christmas All!!! PEACHES! 


	4. Chapter Four: Do We Have a Deal?

Thanks to everyone who has reviewed!! I'm glad you like it. You should hear me squeal with delight every time I receive an e-mail tell me I got another review. Jareth has taken to wearing ear-muffs when I'm on the computer. :]  
  
I don't really HAVE to put disclaimers before every chapter, do I? Hmph. Hope you all had a happy Christmas! Oh yeah, and a Merry New Year to All!  
  
*********  
  
Sarah was really in a bad mood now. Not only did she not get to finish reading up for her English report, which meant she would have to stay up extra late tonight, but she had been interrupted by the one person she had hoped to never see again in her life. On top of that she had been dropped out of the sky, scared out of her wits, threatened, and finally, gotten a sore rear from sitting on a skinny branch for the last 30 minutes. Sarah glanced at her watch. Oh great. Her first class at school started in five minutes. Joy. Now she was REALLY having a great day. There was nothing for it, not unless she truly wanted detention her first day back at school. "It's not that bad, what you have to do," she told herself, "it's childish to refuse to ask him for help.." She wasn't convinced at this though. The LAST thing she wanted to do was to see HIM again, especially at her own invitation. He might not go away if actually summoned.  
  
"But he disappeared!" she argued with herself, "he left as I asked him to! How can I call him back?"  
  
"Ah," her mind answered, "you REALLY think that he just up and left? Just like that? Just because you asked? Seriously, Sarah! Anyways," her mind continued to argue internally, "isn't refusing to call him just placing importance on him? If he means nothing to you, then you wouldn't care what he thought of you if you called him. By caring what he thinks about you, you automatically imply that you care about him."  
  
This decided her. The last thing she wanted was to be thought to care about HIM. Anything but that. She screwed up her courage and thought dark thoughts at the other half of her mind as she opened her mouth,  
  
"Jareth. Could you show up again please?" Sarah asked the air around her. She waited a few seconds. Nothing. "Not going to be that easy, huh?" she thought to herself grimly. "Jareth, please. I. I. just show up will you??" Sarah could've sworn that the air around her was smirking. "Oh. alright! I need your help ok? Does that make you happy??" her voice rose to a shout as Jareth still wasn't showing any signs of appearing, "I NEED YOUR HELP, YOUR ROYAL TIGHTNESS!!! SHOW UP WHY DON'T YOU???"  
  
Jareth gathered himself together to appear by Sarah. He could have waited a little longer and drawn this extremely entertaining ordeal out indefinitely. The temptation to do so was very strong, but Jareth knew when to fold, and as he had already gotten her to say that she needed him, he wasn't going to push his luck, or her patience, any further.  
  
"Sarah, there is no need to scream."  
  
Sarah whirled around as best she could on the branch. "Why can't you show up like normal people?" she snapped, though in her mind she was relieved. She had almost believed that he wasn't going to show, and the thought had scared her a little.  
  
"Because, I don't wish to."  
  
"One doesn't always get what they wish for in this world." Sarah retorted in a singsong voice, echoing Jareth's words from before. "You of all people should know that." Sarah didn't mean to be so sarcastic, but she was rather ticked at herself for being afraid that Jareth wasn't going to show up. She felt betrayed by her own self that any part of her could feel relief at the sight of Him, no matter how much his presence was necessary.  
  
Jareth's face tightened in anger briefly before smoothing out again into his usual, casual expression. "I wouldn't test my temper if I were you, Sarah. It is notoriously volatile. Besides, I believe you called me here because you needed something from me?" he asked pointedly.  
  
"Yes, I did." Now that she had said the words once, they were easier to admit a second time, "Because of your SUPREME stupidity, I am currently stuck in a pine tree about 50ft. off the ground! I would REALLY appreciate getting to class sometime within, say, the next week, ok? So do you think maybe you could do something about this predicament you got me in?" Sarah's voice dripped with sarcasm.  
  
"Yes." Jareth replied calmly.  
  
"Yes what?" Sarah asked, exasperated.  
  
"Yes, I could do something."  
  
Sarah sighed in relief and readied herself to be magic-ed. When nothing happened for several seconds, Sarah eyed Jareth, who was leaning casually against the trunk, questioningly.  
  
"Well?" she asked impatiently.  
  
"Well what?" He replied in his most innocent tones.  
  
"Aren't you going to do something?" Sarah queried, bewildered.  
  
"No, why should I?"  
  
"Because you said you would!!!"  
  
"No, I didn't"  
  
Now Sarah was beginning to become frantic. "Yes you did!! I heard you! Just now! You said that you could-do-something-for me." Sarah's voice slowed to a halt as she realized what she had said.  
  
"Precisely, Sarah. You asked if I could do something. I agreed that, yes, I could, but I never said that I would. You should learn to be more precise in your wording."  
  
Sarah rolled her eyes. This was soooo like Jareth, "Alright, then, Mr. Precision! WILL you do something about getting me to class on time?"  
  
Jareth appeared to think for a moment, purposely drawing out Sarah's suspense until he saw signs of her growing angry again. "I will." He finally answered.  
  
Here Sarah sighed with relief but her breath caught in her throat as he continued,  
  
"But on one condition."  
  
  
  
"Great great great. A condition!! Shoulda known! This IS Mr. High and Mighty King of the Goblins, after all. Ah well, at least ask him what he wants, girl. Asking doesn't mean you have to agree." She said to herself.  
  
"What is the condition?" she asked, her voice sounding the way a deer would look as it stepped out onto a busy road, fully expecting a car to come careening out of nowhere and take away it's ability to cross roads, permanently.  
  
"Nothing really, a trifle. Truly a very simple thing." Jareth dramatically began, but Sarah cut him off.  
  
"Yeah, yeah. I've already heard the whole, 'but if you turn it this way.' junk, and I'm NOT interested. Drop the preliminary sales pitch, ok?"  
  
"Fine." Jareth said, a little miffed, "All I ask is that you allow me complete freedom in how I get you down, and you do as I say without question."  
  
"I do NOT think so! Do you think I am that stupid?? You'll just whisk me away to that stupid maze of yours!" she mentally winced at calling the Labyrinth a 'stupid maze', it was like calling a da Vinci a child's drawing, "No thank you! I prefer my current surroundings to THAT."  
  
Jareth's eyes sparked at the 'stupid maze' quip, but his voice remained calm. "Sarah, I swear to you, the last thing that I'll do is take you away to my Labyrinth! Do you honestly think that I would wish you back there after the destruction you caused? It will take days to rebuild the bridge over the bog alone! Not to mention the absolute carnage and desolation in the city itself!" a note of sarcasm entered his voice, "No, I think in this case I can promise that I will NOT take you away to the Labyrinth if you agree to my conditions."  
  
"You promise? Truly?" Sarah asked with obvious disbelief.  
  
"Yes. I give you my word of honor as a gentleman and a king." He said seriously.  
  
Sarah snorted a little at the 'gentleman' part, but little it pass without comment. "And you won't take me anywhere else besides my school?" she squinted at him in suspicion.  
  
"Yes. Again, I give you my word of honor."  
  
"I'll show up immediately at class? On time?" Sarah was still extremely doubtful.  
  
"Yes and yes, Sarah!" Jareth was beginning to sound a little exasperated.  
  
"And I won't have any extra spells cast on me to make me do things I wouldn't want to?"  
  
"Yes, of course, Sarah! Why all the questions? Don't you trust me?"  
  
Sarah looked at him as if he had just asked her if she thought the sky was green, "Actually, in a word, NO. Very adamantly no! When have you ever given me cause to trust you?!?"  
  
"Sarah," Jareth admonished, "tell me of a single time that I lied to you. Just one."  
  
Sarah thought for a moment, and then realized that for all his insinuations and implications, he had never actually lied to her once. For instance, he never actually SAID that Toby was going to become a goblin if she didn't reach him in time, just that he would become "one of us." Whatever that meant. She had just assumed. She was beginning to realize that she had just assumed a lot of things. This realization didn't help her mood any, but she admitted grudgingly, "Well. I suppose you haven't." she eyed him warily and took the dive.  
  
"Alright, I agree."  
  
  
  
"Good, then give me your hand."  
  
  
  
  
  
*********  
  
  
  
Oh, aren't I evil? smirk  
  
Ok, sorry about the long wait. This will be all for while though. I'm going off to Disney World (no, I'm not getting paid to mention the name, so don't sue) for about 2 weeks. The next post will be when I get back. Oh, BTW: I'm looking for downloads of any labyrinth sound clips. can someone direct me to a working link or something? All the ones I've checked didn't work. pout Oh, and here's Jareth. He wanted to say something.  
  
Jareth: hops out into the light with his arms and legs tied and tries to speak through his gag "MMMmMmmPHhhhmmm!!!"  
  
Dune: "What? We couldn't hear you."  
  
Jareth: "mMMMmmMMMrrmmmTtPHHHH!!!" tries to hop closer but falls down and rolls out of sight, his gruntings still audible but distant  
  
Dune: "oh well, I guess it wasn't that important. See you all later!!!"  
  
  
  
Hugs and Peaches!!  
  
~Dune~ 


	5. Chapter Five: The Plan Unfolds

I'm BBAAAAAAaaaaaaccck!! Aloha and good evening. Well, I'm sure that when some of you read this it will be morning or daytime or really really late at night, but still, as I post this it is evening for ME, and THAT is all that counts. ;] Anyways, I want to tell you all (all that care that is) that I had a marvelous time over at Disney World, (thanks for all of your good wishes to that extent), and I may have to write a fiction based on it. though in this case, wouldn't it be a faction? Ah well. Terms, terms, what are the terms? Lol neways, here is the next chap. I hope y'all enjoy it as much as I did writing it.  
  
Disclaimer: Do I REALLY have to have one? I don't think so. If you want a disclaimer, read the beginning chap. That should suffice for anyone. Though if you want me to start making up funny or angsty Jareth disclaimers just for the fun of it, you can vote on it in your reviews. (yes, this is a shameless way of getting more of 'em, I know grin)  
  
ON WITH THE SHOW!  
  
  
  
***************  
  
  
  
Revenge.  
  
  
  
In the end, that's all it came down to for Jareth. Oh yes, Sarah falling for him in the bargain would be a nice little perk too, but Jareth was willing to take what he could get. Most people in the revenge business did. Took what they could get, I mean, not fall for Jareth. I didn't say "falling in love" because Jareth had rejected that idea along with those ludicrous plans he had spent hours inventing after being rejected by Sarah. Most of which included skin-tight, black jumpsuits, fast cars, impossible gadgets, and midnight kidnappings. Jareth had found that he didn't much like love in general, having had bad experiences with it. Though, now that he thought of it, it would be nice if he could get Sarah to love him. (one part of his mind suggested) Love left one ever so vulnerable. But no. (said another part) That would involve wooing her, and that would leave him in danger of falling in love with her.  
  
No thank you.  
  
He had given her his heart once already, and what did he get for baring his soul? A cold-hearted refusal and banishment from her life, that's what.  
  
  
  
Jareth looked down at the girl in his arms, who was currently scared to death and clinging to him with all she was worth. It was rather nice holding her like this. wait, what was that nice, warm feeling spreading up from his toes? Jareth shook himself. "This is business," he reminded himself, "I am not here to get warm, fuzzy feelings. Especially not when they involve her." Resolute again, he sped on towards his destination.  
  
  
  
He thought again on his plans. He needed Sarah to wish herself away. That was his goal. Not just any wish, either, but a wish in which she placed herself in his complete control. She had to trust him implicitly when she made her wish, or he would not be able to enact his complete revenge upon her when he brought her back to his labyrinth. Once she wished herself away while trusting him completely, the Labyrinth would bind her to him and she would be his slave.  
  
  
  
"Oh, by the way, did you notice that?" Jareth smirked at himself. "The fact that I never actually said I wouldn't take her back. just implied it. Mean little trickster, aren't I?"  
  
  
  
He frowned. That was another thing. Somehow, he was going to have to get Sarah to do all this without him lying to her. Jareth normally held lying in contempt, thinking it beneath him. But when the stakes were high enough he was willing to lower himself to the indignity. He couldn't lie to Sarah, how ever. The risk of her finding out was too great, and if she did, he would lose all chance of gaining her complete trust. There was also the fact the he found the idea of lying to her just plain uncomfortable. but he pushed that thought into the recesses of his mind and ignored it.  
  
  
  
Oooooh. but when he got her back to the Labyrinth. and under his complete control. THEN the fun would begin! Maybe he would make her clean the Bog of Eternal Stench with a toothbrush. or, or maybe he would send her out into a. swarm of biting faeries! To kill them with a flyswatter!. or. here Jareth's grin turned positively evil, maybe he would just make her dance around his throne room with a bunch of goblins while he sang. yes. that would be amusing! Petty, yes, but fun!  
  
  
  
Actually, what Jareth was really looking forward to was when he would make her take back those words. All of them. He would stand her in the exact spot as before and force her to say that he DID have power over her. Over and over she would say it until she could think or say nothing else. Until her voice grew hoarse and her knees gave out. And THEN he would make her beg. BEG him to offer her his heart again. And he would exercise the extreme pleasure of refusing. Coldly.  
  
And then he would turn his back to her and banish her to be a goblin for all eternity. Constantly at his side, but oh, so far away.  
  
  
  
Yes.  
  
He would be cruel.  
  
Jareth's arms unconsciously tightened around Sarah as he bared his teeth in triumph.  
  
  
  
************  
  
Short but sweet. Want more?? Huh? Do ya? HEH HEH HEH! You must BEG. BEG!!! MWAAHAHAHAAA!!! Oh don't look at me like that! No! You know I can't stand it when you look at me like that! ARGH Ok, FINE. I'll write more. But don't expect me to be so nice NEXT time. evil glare  
  
Peaches!!! 


	6. Chapter Six: Strange Happenings

First, I just want to say a large and resounding THANK YOU to the people who have not abandoned this story! Your reviews are read and appreciated to their fullest, I ensure you!!! May all of your dreams of gauzy gowns and crystal ball-rooms be fulfilled!  
  
Secondly, I wish to express my utmost apologies for the delay.  
  
And for all those who care, I wish to express the noble sentimentt: I HATE SCHOOL.  
  
That being said, on with the tale.  
  
  
  
**********  
  
  
  
Sarah only dared to pull her head away from its position buried in Jareth's chest when the sounds of cars whizzing by told her that she was close to her destination. Something in her did not WANT to pull away, however, and this bewildered her. What WAS that warm, fuzzy feeling in her stomach? Oh, that's right, she hadn't eaten much this morning, of course.  
  
That had to be it.  
  
Yes.  
  
Sarah looked around. They were skimming the tops of the buildings at a height that though uncomfortable, was not mind numbingly terrifying. There, in the not so distant distance, she could see her college. It was only a junior college, yes, and she was only a dual credit student, being only 17, but it was college all the same.  
  
[author's note](Bear with me here. I know that Sarah was supposed to be 15 in the movie, but I couldn't rightly do what I want to do with this story if she was too young. And college is needed because, well, you have to read to find out.)[/author's note]  
  
Jareth alighted in one of the back paths at the college, right outside of the building in which Sarah's first class was held. Actually, the class had already BEEN held, but what was the point of being Fae if you couldn't mess around with time when you wanted to? Sarah he set down gently on her feet and then summoned another crystal. He rolled it around on his hands for a bit but she wasn't looking at it, her attention being focused on suppressing some slight nausea caused from her recent jaunt through the air. He stopped, disappointed that he wasn't being noticed, and offered it to her.  
  
THAT got her attention.  
  
What is THAT for?" She asked, disgust ringing through her voice. Didn't he know by now how she felt about being offered crystals? You'd think a guy could take a hint.  
  
"Well, I WAS under the predisposition that you wished to arrive at your class on time. I guess I was mistaken?" Jareth goaded her.  
  
"No, you weren't mistaken. Fine, gimmie the crystal."  
  
"You forgot the magic word." Jareth grinned infuriatingly.  
  
"PLEASE gimmie the crystal!" the words were more of a demand than a request, but Jareth handed the crystal over without comment.  
  
Sarah took it and gazed deeply into it. Images flew past her. Images of sunny afternoons, ball gowns, and handsome men dancing with her in the evening. All the men had a suspicious resemblance to a certain Goblin King.  
  
"Hmph, I hope he doesn't think that he's being subtle." She thought disgustedly.  
  
"Jareth, I don't want to be shown dreams, I want to get to class on time!" she said, knowing that Jareth could hear her, even though she couldn't see anything but the visions in the crystal.  
  
The atmosphere around her changed subtly and one last vision flew past her. The image was of her, Sarah, but in different clothes. In the image, she was wearing a tan colored body suit with leggings that looked strongly like suede and whose neckline dipped rather low and was kind of off the shoulder. Around her waist was a darker brown, wrap-around skirt, extremely short and also made of suede. She had on a dark green, long sleeved, short jacket that came down a little past her chest and didn't close in the front. She also had on knee length, green leather boots. Around her neck she wore a black choker from which hung a dragon's claw holding a crystal. Her hair had sparkles in it, and was let loose to hang around her face. Hanging around her hips was a thick, heavy belt of leather that was fastened with a huge silver buckle.  
  
It was an outfit that she would've killed for only a few days ago, though she would've never had the guts to wear it. Still, even though she was trying to be sensible, right now she wanted that outfit.  
  
Badly.  
  
The image only flashed in front of her for a second, however, before fading into darkness. Suddenly, there was a flash of brilliant light, and a sensation of being in two places at once, and then she found herself standing outside the door to her class. The clock down the hall said she had exactly one minute in which to find her seat before her class started.  
  
  
  
Sarah quickly opened the door and went in. The teacher wasn't there yet, and Sarah breathed a sigh of relief. She moved toward her seat when she noticed that her usually talkative classmates were completely silent. She scanned the room and was embarrassed to find that all of their eyes were glued on her. One handsome guy in the back suddenly let out a long, low whistle and everything erupted back into sound. Discussions started loudly around the room, and the girls in the front row all started whispering to each other frantically. Anne, Sarah's best friend, ran forward and dragged the bewildered Sarah to her seat.  
  
"Sarah. Oh my gosh. Sarah, where'd you get that OUTFIT??"  
  
"What outfit?" Sarah asked, totally at a loss. Then she realized that she had picked out different clothes that morning and wasn't wearing her usual flowing, poet's garb, "Is it really that bad? I mean, I know I normally wear more imaginative stuff, but I was trying to be sensible this morning and."  
  
Anne cut her off. "S-SENSIBLE?? Sarah, I would KILL for those clothes!"  
  
"What.?" Sarah looked down. Her jaw dropped. She was wearing that outfit that she had seen in the last vision. The one she had liked so much. Her face turned blank, then white, and then red anger clouded her vision. "THAT, THAT HORRIBLE EGOTISTCAL NIGHTMARE!" She hissed through clenched teeth. "Wait till I get my hands on him.."  
  
"Who, Sarah?" Anne asked, drawing her attention away from Sarah's outfit with difficulty.  
  
"Oh. uh. no one." Sarah said dismissively, trying to calm herself. One couldn't very well explain, even to one's best friend, that you were currently being stalked by a egotistical, magical, annoying (handsome, a part of her mind inserted. She ignored it.) goblin king out of faeryland. It just isn't done.  
  
It was at this moment that the teacher arrived and all conversation had to be put off until a later date.  
  
Her first class was world history, one of Sarah's favorites, so she tried to put Jareth and the absurd outfit he had stuck her in as much out of her mind as was possible and enjoy the class.  
  
In point of fact, she wasn't upset about the outfit itself. As was stated before, it was PRECISELY the sort of thing she adored. It was the fact that it had been HIM who had put her in it. having to associate Ja-HIM with anything to do with her clothes was. well, let's just say her face shaded red periodically as her teacher, Professor Yu, called role.  
  
Professor Yu was an English-born Korean, who was fascinated with history in general and mythology in particular, which was why Sarah liked his classes so much. See, most history teachers stuck to plain, boring facts, but Yu was different. He loved expounding on the various legends and myths that clouded the ancient history. He had a way of implying, though not actually stating (the College Board would never have stood for it), that many of the legends surrounding historical figures and countries were true. He and Sarah shared a deep love of the fantastic and magical.  
  
Prof. Yu had just completed calling role when the door to the classroom opened and admitted a large, strict looking lady. Sarah had been daydreaming out the window while the Professor called role. She was focused completely on a spider's web that hung between to branches on the tree outside. She was imagining how Jareth would look caught tightly in it, a black widow (who looked oddly like herself) advancing on him with deadly intent.  
  
Suddenly, the classroom door opened to admit a towering pile of gray hair. This interesting follicle phenomenon was balanced on the top of the head of Mrs. Sevear, the student counselor. Mrs. Sevear appeared to be in a huff, and she looked about her in a stern manner through heavy, tortoiseshell glasses. "Sorry to bother you, Professor," she said, sounding anything but sorry, "but I have a foreign student here from the British embassy who will be taking classes at this college for the duration of his visit. He will be taking this class first and a list of his other classes will be available at the counseling center. Also, the College Board has asked you to assign someone to show him around."  
  
"Well. thank you Ms. Sevear." Professor Yu sounded rather startled, "We would be honored, that is to say, it is no trouble." he stuttered to a halt as Mrs. Sevear ushered someone into the room.  
  
Anyone who, for some strange reason of their own, was watching Sarah instead of the amusing display near the classroom door would've noticed several things. One, Sarah had yet to turn her attention away from the window. Two, the second the word "British" entered the air, Sarah's body went taunt. And third, Sarah's foot was no longer tapping as it normally did when she was sitting and thinking.  
  
In fact, a really close observer with a good vantage point would have seen that she was not daydreaming at all.  
  
The expression on her face was one of dawning horror.  
  
  
  
********** 


	7. Chapter Seven

"Good evening, Professor Yu." The cultured, English voice cut into Sarah's revere with the feeling identical to a rubber band snapping across your skin.  
  
Jareth looked around the room. Dark sunglasses covered his eyes, so the room was strangely tinted, but some things were necessary. Most mortals did not have one eye that was brown and another that was blue. He didn't much care for his current hairstyle. He had worn his hair wild for so long that it had been rather painful to pull it back into a ponytail, loose or not. Jareth had spotted Sarah the second he had stepped into the room. He was glad of the dark sunglasses because he couldn't help staring openly at her. Where had she gotten that outfit? Jareth had never seen her dressed in anything more revealing than a pair of jeans and a blouse before, and his eyes roamed approvingly over her form. Her hair glistened like spun jewels in the sunlight, and her small, delicate, white hands looked as smooth as the suede that made up the jacket. A warm feeling spread through Jareth's body and his hands twitched forward as if to stroke her hair. what? Where had THAT come from? This was SARAH, for Oberon's sake! His. Jareth's eyes took in how short the skirt was over the leggings and he momentarily lost his train of thought. E-nemy! Yes, enemy. That's right. He was having trouble formulating thoughts now as his eyes took in the set of her shoulders and the curve of her slender waist, "Sarah. Bad Girl. Destroyed my. Labyrinth. yes. Um, Sarah." Jareth tore his eyes away before he, well, did something. he wasn't sure what he had been about to do, but it seemed to have something to do with running over to her and pulling her into his arms and. but that couldn't be! He was The King of the Goblins, and he was here to Teach Her A Lesson. Yes. Focus, Jareth, focus. Right.  
  
"Class," Professor Yu was saying as this interesting monologue was going on inside of Jareth, "as you all probably heard, we have a new student. May I introduce Mr.-?"  
  
"Goodfellow. Robin Goodfellow. At your service, sir." Jareth made an elegant bow while sending up a prayer that Puck wasn't listening in. It was the first name that had come to mind, but Puck had a certain something against people who pretended to be him. Oh well, what would come would come and he had already done it, so why worry?  
  
"Goodfellow? As in the Puck? Good heavens! Fancy meeting someone with that name! This is truly intriguing! I'm certain that I would have noticed if someone, even a British Ambassador, had that name."  
  
"Oh, I'm a cousin, sir. Rather distant. My family wanted me to get some American schooling to sort of round out my education and so they sent me to the Ambassador. Though personally," Jareth leaned toward Professor Yu in a conspiratorial manner, "I believe that my dear parents couldn't stand my dashing good looks out doing them at every banquet and dignitary meeting." Jareth winked at Anne, who promptly blushed scarlet and giggled like a little girl. Jareth's mouth broke out into its customary predatory grin and Anne, seeing it, melted into her seat with a sign of longing. She elbowed Sarah. "Wake up, you! Turn around and check out this guy! What a specimen! A true tribute to male hotness."  
  
Sarah wasn't listening to Anne, which didn't matter, as Anne was too busy staring at Jareth to notice Sarah's lack of reply. Sarah's mind was focused almost solely on the intricate pattern made by a spider's web in the corner of the window. She concentrated as hard as she could, cutting out all that was going on around her. Especially anything that had to do with English accents. Her traitorous ears, however, seemed to have no such compunctions, and she couldn't help catching the tail end of the conversation between Yu and Jareth. She mentally ground her teeth at Jareth's quip about his own good looks. "That arrogant.!" she seethed inwardly, "What a stuck-up prick!" Realizing how futile it was to completely ignore what was going around her, Sarah slowly turned her attention away from the window and swallowed the bitter ranting in her mind. Her eyes should have immediately flown to the fine-boned features of a certain fae, but through sheer force of will she managed to stop them at a spot on the white board, behind and slightly to the left of Jare- er, I mean, Robin Goodfellow. Jareth, seeing Sarah's face turned in his direction, sent a slow wink to her. Sarah, fixated solely on his left eye-brow now (the whiteboard being a little to barren for Sarah's traitorous eyes to remained interested in for long), didn't catch the wink, but Anne did.  
  
"Oh stars, Sarah! He SOOOOOO freakin' winked at me!" Anne exclaimed to the totally zoned out Sarah. "I think I'm in love." she crooned under her breath before sliding down in her seat, dreamy eyes locked steadfastly on Jareth. Jareth noticed the glazed expression on Sarah's face, and, slightly miffed, sent a small kiss in Anne's general direction. (yeah, as if he missed the dramatics she was throwing around.) Hey, he figured, at least someone was appreciating him. Anne caught the kiss and then weakly collapsed further into her seat, clutching her wildly beating heart. Professor Yu was rather at a loss at this time. Here was an interesting, not to mention foreign, young man thrust upon him without so much as a by- your-leave and it was suddenly his duty to not only place this young man in a class, but to make sure his stay was an enjoyable one, as surely he would be reporting back to the Ambassador. Yu searched around for an escape and found it in Sarah's blank gaze. "Ah yes. well, since you will be taking classes here," Yu addressed Jareth in a befuddled tone, "I guess I might as well find you a guide from this class to show you around." Yu glanced around the room for volunteers. Anne's hand immediately shot up into the air, quickly followed by the rest of her body, but Yu's gaze fastened on Sarah. "Sarah-girl, why don't you show Mr. Goodfellow around for a while. I'm sure that you will make his stay most enjoyable." That being said, Yu shook hands with Jareth and waved him to an empty seat at the right side of the front of the classroom.  
  
Sarah eyes were still following Jareth's left eyebrow at this time, and it wasn't until a split-second after Yu's announcement that her ears registered what they had heard. "B-but. I can't!" She blurted out loudly, as Jareth eased his long form into the desk. Yu cocked an eyebrow at her and said, "Why not, Sarah?" "Because. uh, I've got a book report to do and I'm barely started!!" "Well," Yu said, "I'm sure that you will have plenty of time, Robin looks like a quick study. Anyway, you would be my first choice for a guide around the library, so you can show him around there while you work on your paper." Professor Yu's tone said that his decision was everything but negotiable. Shock and horror both worked to keep Sarah in her seat and staring at Yu as he pronounced what she believed to be her death sentence.  
  
A door slammed in the distance and the peaceful thrumming of the rain was interrupted by a shrill voice.  
  
"And this, Robin, is what is called a hallway. H-a-l-l-w-a-y. Please notice the extremely hall-like walls that completely line this hallway. In fact, the absolute lack of anything that could be called a room is what defines a hallway." At this point, paint started peeling off the tiles on the walls from the sheer acidity of Sarah's words.  
  
Sarah was striding (there is no other word for her purposeful tread) down the main hallway of the science and math building with a more than slightly amused Jareth languidly walking a few feet behind her. His long legs made it possible for him to keep up with Sarah's quick pace without even the appearance of effort.  
  
Sarah had unwillingly towed him from her History class, Chemistry lab, and then her Algebra class. She kept up a running commentary about the age of the buildings, the type of decorations, and the possibility of new buildings and sections being started that made her sound like an extremely flurried tour guide. She had done this so that she wouldn't have to listen to any comments Jareth might make and also so she kept ahead of the wave of stress-induced insanity that threatened to overwhelm her. If only by a margin.  
  
Sarah had, by this time, run out of good material to rattle on about, and so was searching for an escape from her constant companion. She found it in the sign on the door ahead of her on the left.  
  
"And if you will excuse me, I will be back in a moment. Please place all trash in the nearby receptacle and feel free to, at any time, disappear back to where you came from!!" With that, she ducked inside the women's restroom and breathed a sigh of relief as the door shut behind her. She had just finished checking the stalls to see which one was cleanest when a cultured English voice cut into the peaceful silence of the bathroom.  
  
"What are you doing?" 


End file.
